Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to
ArabizeDarfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
has an invite.
"Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir has been invited," an African diplomatic source told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
The source said he expected the recent turmoil surrounding al-Bashir's South Africa visit to dissuade him from traversing outside his own country.
The Sudanese president closely escaped being tossed in the slammer
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
and being turned over to the
International Criminal Court... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
while attending an African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
summit in Johannesburg.
Despite this, the source said there were many reasons why al-Bashir would attend the summit, which will take place between Oct. 26 and 30.
"The host country has already formally invited the leaders of all 54 states in Africa," the source said, adding: "African leaders have already demonstrated solidarity against the court -- a court that seems to have lost its credibility in Africa."
The source added: "India has no incentive to arrest Al-Bashir since it is not a member of the ICC and therefore not legally obliged to do so."
"South African law was outpaced by a collective political decision by African leaders," the source said referring to the African Union summit turmoil. "The leaders must have lobbied against the arrest Al-Bashir."